Monday, March 31, 2008

Startech Environmental Plasma Converter 1Startech Environmental Plasma Converter 1st in Europest in Europe

Wilton, Connecticut, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Startech Environmental Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: STHK), a fully reporting, internationally recognized Award-winning Environment and Energy company announced today that "waste2greenenergy (w2ge)," the Company's distributor for the United Kingdom and for the Republic of Poland, intends to install its first Plasma Converter System at a designated facility in Bytom, Poland to process ten-tons of industrial waste per day.


Joseph F. Longo, Startech president, said, "The Bytom installation is especially important to the Company because it is the opener to the entire European market including the large market in Poland that has been a long time in development. The Plasma Converter, purchased by w2ge last August and being manufactured now, will be the first in Europe."

John Cameron, w2ge's Chief Operating Officer said, "We are very excited regarding the prospects for Startech's Plasma Converter System. We have a very strong pipeline of projects in Poland and anticipate the Bytom facility being the first of many Plasma Converter Systems which we will install in Poland.

Poland is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union and is a key market for w2ge. Poland has embraced plasma technology in its environmental laws as one of the preferred technologies for the safe disposal of industrial wastes. Bytom will be the first operational Plasma Converter System in the European Union and will operate as a flagship for Startech's unique Plasma Converter technology.

"Beyond Bytom, we have a significant number of projects across Poland at various stages of advancement. The installation of these systems across a wide-range of Polish industries will propel Poland and w2ge to the forefront of 21st Century waste management technology."

To contact w2ge: John Cameron, Chief Operating Officer waste2greenenergy Ltd t: +44(0)207 659 6169 f: +44 (0)207 659 6170 www.w2ge.com

About Startech

-- The Environment and Energy Company Startech is the internationally recognized, Award-winning Environment and Energy Industry Company engaged in the production and sale of its innovative, proprietary plasma processing equipment known as the Plasma Converter System(TM).

The Plasma Converter System safely and economically destroys wastes, no matter how hazardous or lethal, and turns most into useful and valuable products. In doing so, the System protects the environment and helps to improve the Public Health and Safety. The System achieves closed-loop elemental recycling to safely and irreversibly destroy urban waste, organics and inorganics, solids, liquids and gases, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, industrial by-products and also items such as electronics-waste (e-waste), medical waste, chemical industry waste and other specialty wastes, while converting many of them into useful commodity products that can include silicates, metals and a synthesis-gas called Plasma Converted Gas (PCG) (TM).

Among the many commercial uses for PCG, is its use to produce "Carbonless Electric Power" from Startech Hydrogen, Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) fuels such as ethanol, synthetic diesel fuel and other higher alcohol "alternative" fuels.

Startech Hydrogen, for commercial use and sale, can also be recovered from the PCG.

The Startech Plasma Converter is essentially a manufacturing system producing valuable commodity products from feedstock-materials that were previously regarded as wastes.

Startech regards all wastes, hazardous and non-hazardous, as valuable renewable resources and as feedstocks.

For further information, please visit http://www.startech.net or contact Steve Landa at (888) 807-9443, (203) 762-2499 EXT 7 or sales@startech.net.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's plans and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of its Plasma Converter(TM) technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, failure of the customer to obtain appropriate financing for the project, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, rapid technological change and competition as well as other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

SOURCE: Startech Environmental Corp.
CONTACT: John Cameron, Chief Operating Officer of waste2greenenergy Ltd,
+44-207-659-6169, f: +44-207-659-6170;
or Steve Landa of Startech Environmental Corp.,
+1-888-807-9443,
or +1-203-762-2499 EXT 7, sales@startech.net/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp113537.html /
Web site: http://www.startech.net
http://www.w2ge.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

comScore releases Top Japan Web Site rankings for February 2008

Tokyo, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its February 2008 rankings of the largest and fastest-growing Internet properties and site categories in Japan, based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.


Valentine's Day prompted growth in the retail-food and fragrances/cosmetics categories as women sent gifts to men to celebrate the holiday, while the government category grew as people prepared for tax season.

Mozilla was the fastest growing site in Japan, as it was in many countries around the world, due to the release of their updated Firefox browser.

Traditionally February is a month when many musicians release new albums in Japan, leading several music information sites to experience increases, including Utapmap.com, Oricon.co.jp, and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Yahoo! Sites continued their strong lead as the top web property in the Japanese market.

"Valentine's Day has traditionally been celebrated in Japan with the women giving men gifts, especially chocolates, a practice that is slightly different from other parts of the world," said Maru Sato, Managing Director of comScore Japan. "As a result, traffic to retail-food sites saw a sharp increase for the month as people took advantage of the convenience of online shopping and ordering."

Top Gaining Site Categories for February 2008 Top Gaining Site Categories by Number of Unique Japanese Visitors February 2008 vs. January 2007 Age 15+ Home and Work Locations* Source:

comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000) Site Category
Jan-2008
Feb-2008
% Change Total Internet: Total Audience
54,544
54,395
0 Retail - Food
1,677
1,991
19 Fragrances/Cosmetics
4,133
4,682
13 Lotto/Sweepstakes
1,608
1,817
13 Government
9,488
10,349
9 Job Search
4,660
5,036
8 * Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Top Gaining Properties for February 2008 Top 10 Gaining Properties by Number of Japanese Unique Visitors* February 2008 vs. January 2008 Age 15+ Home and Work Locations** Source:

comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000) Property
Jan-2008
Feb-2008
% Change Total Internet: Total Audience
54,544
54,395
0 The Mozilla Organization
2,005
2,738
37 COOKPAD.COM
2,218
2,948
33 Nissan
2,016
2,617
30 UTAMAP.COM
2,330
2,858
23 ORICON.CO.JP
5,520
6,404
16 IZA.NE.JP
6,279
7,148
14 Japan Airlines
2,322
2,622
13 BLOGMURA.COM
2,530
2,849
13 Sony BMG Music Entertainment
3,122
3,484
12 DAILYMOTION.COM
2,844
3,100
9 * Ranking based on the top 100 Japanese properties in February 2008.
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Top 25 Properties for February 2008 Top 25 Properties by Number of Japanese Unique Visitors* February 2008 vs. January 2008 Age 15+ Home and Work Locations** Source: comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Feb-08 Jan-08
Visitors (000) Rank
Rank
Property
Feb-08 N/A
N/A
Total Internet: Total Audience
54,395 1
1
Yahoo! Sites
42,906 2
2
Google Sites
33,250 3
3
Rakuten Inc
29,405 4
4
Microsoft Sites
28,958 5
6
FC2 inc.
27,550 6
5
NTT Group
26,580 7
10
GMO Internet Group
23,433 8
9
Livedoor
22,219 9
7
Nifty Corporation
22,185 10
8
Wikipedia Sites
20,906 11
11
Amazon Sites
18,124 12
14
Apple Inc.
15,941 13
12
NEC Corporation
15,381 14
15
Sony Online
15,217 15
13
Sakura Internet
15,166 16
16
Excite Japan
14,807 17
17
AMEBLO.JP
14,219 18
N/A
Internet Initiative Japan
12,848 19
19
KDDI Corporation
12,565 20
20
MIXI, Inc.
12,382 21
18
Hatena
12,224 22
21
SEESAA.NET
11,684 23
23
NICOVIDEO.JP
10,492 24
22
TRACKWORD.NET
10,288 25
24
DTIBLOG.COM
8,461 * Ranking based on the top 100 Japanese properties in February 2008.
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

About comScore comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com/boilerplate

SOURCE: comScore, Inc.
CONTACT: Maru Sato of comScore Japan K.K., +81-3-5789-5555,
hsato@comscore.com/
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115COMSCORELOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/
Web site: http://www.comscore.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

PT Timah (Persero) Tbk Posted Net Profit of Rp 1,8 Trillion in 2007

Jakarta, 31 March 2008 (ANTARA) - PT Timah (Persero) Tbk reported today its Consolidated Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2007. The company posted 2007 net profit of Rp1.78 Trillion (Rp 1,784.6 billion) or Rp3,546,- per share, which was 757% higher compared to that of 2006 net profit of Rp208.1 billion or Rp414,- per share. Higher net profit was due to better performance of the Company as well as higher global tin price that was supported by more favorable situation on the national tin industry.


Law enforcement on the tin mining activity has contributed significantly to the more favorable situation of the Indonesian tin industry. This was followed by the Government's action through the issuance of Trade Minister Decree No. 4 of 2007, which creates a more conducive environment to the mining activities. Furthermore, "harmonization" program initiated by the company to enhance common awareness of the benefit of tin resources between the company and the local community at large during the year has resulted in improved performance of the company as well as better community welfare being nurtured by the company.

In addition, better control of tin export has affected the global tin price level. During 2007, the highest level of world's tin price was recorded at US$17,300 per metric ton, and the lowest at US$10,175 per metric ton, with the average annual price recorded at US$14,529 per metric ton, an increase of 166% from 2006 average price of US$8,763 per metric ton. PT Timah (Persero) Tbk contributed 18% of the world supply of refined tin with total production of 58,325 metric ton in 2007.

Operational Highlight

The company's revenue in 2007 reached Rp8,542.4 billion, or 110% higher than 2006 revenue of Rp4,076.4 billion. The largest contributor of the company's consolidated revenue came from the sales of refined tin which was 91.15%, while the sales of coal contributes 8.6%. Revenue from sale of refined tin increased 225.7% from Rp3,450.3 billion in 2006 to Rp7,786.2 billion. The significant increase was due to the increased in sales volume sold and higher average tin price received by the company. Sales volume of refined tin was 38% from 42,613 metric ton in 2006 to 58,927 metr ic ton in 2007.

The average tin price received by the company in 2007 reached US$14,474 per metric ton, which was 64% higher than that of 2006 average of US$ 8,844 per metric ton. Meanwhile, the exchange rate of US Dollar to the Indonesian Rupiah in 2007 was relatively stable compared to that in 2006. The exchange rate of US Dollar in 2006 was Rp9,166 and in 2007 was Rp9,129 per US dollar.

Refined tin production in 2007 was 58,325 metric ton, which was 31% higher compared to 2006 of 44,689 metric ton.

In addition to the increased in smelter capacity, higher refined tin production in 2007 was also due to higher availability of tin-in-concentrate. Total tin-in-concentrate production in 2007 was 58,086 metric ton, or 12% higher than that in 2006 of 51,847 metric ton. Higher production of refined tin has also resulted in decreased tin-in-concentrate inventory level by 56%, from 13,325 metric ton at end of 2006 to only 5,919 metric ton at end of 2007.

The largest contributor of tin-in-concentrate production came from inland mining, which produced 46,078 metric ton Sn, an 18% increase compared to that of 2006 production of 39,141 metric ton Sn. This was due to continuous law enforcement measures in the tin mining activities, as well as the result of more effective security effort in the company's mining rights areas, and thus securing better supply of tin-in-concentrate from the land mines. Production from offshore, however, experienced 5% decrease from 12,706 metric ton in 2006, down to 12,008 metric ton in 2007. Bad sea weather along 2007 and temporary stoppage in operation due to maintenance of dredges have caused such decrease.

The increase production of refined tin utilizing the tin-in-concentrate produced during the year as well as beginning year inventory has also resulted to the increase of tin-slag (work in process) volume by 54%, from 10,925 metric ton at the end of 2006 to 16,866 metric ton at the end of 2007.

Coal business unit remained providing significant contribution to the company. Coal sourcing from both PT Tanjung Alam Jaya as well as its business partners has increased by 0.9% from 2,145,254 metric ton in 2006 to 2,164,885 metric ton in 2007. Whereas the sales volume increased by 36% from 1,784,305 metric ton in 2006 up to 2,430,836 metric ton in 2007.

Financial Highlight

The company's gross profit in 2007 reached Rp3,176 billion or 3.8 times higher than that of 2006 of Rp665.1 billion. This was due to higher refined tin cost of goods sold of 57%, while cost of goods sold of consolidated subsidiaries increased by 25% compared to that of the previous year.

The company's operating profit increased by 6.2 times, from Rp381.2 billion in 2006 to Rp2,723.6 billion, and profit before tax was 6.6 times higher compared to that of 2006 of Rp347.5 billion to Rp 2,653.9 billion.

The company's total asset increased by 45% from Rp3,462.2 billion to Rp5,032.7 billion. The increase was mainly due to the increase in current asset by 76% from Rp2,227.1 billion in 2006 to Rp3,922.1 billion in 2007. The largest contributor came from the increase of cash and cash equivalents of 873% from Rp178.2 billion at the end of 2006 to Rp1,734.2 billion at the end of 2007. The company's receivables increased by 44% from Rp 221.1 billion at the end of 2006 up to Rp318.1 billion at the end of 2007.

In 2007, the company decided to repay all of its short term debt, which as of the end of 2006 the company's short term debts amounted to Rp692.4 billion. Trade payable also decreased by 44%, from Rp341.8 billion at the end of 2006 to Rp190.5 billion at the end of 2007. Total equity increased 100% to Rp 3,359 bi llion in 2007 compared to Rp1,676.6 billion in 2006.

Current situation and future outlook

World's demand on refined tin is still showing a high growth rate. Commodity Research Unit (CRU), a London-based independent research institution, estimated that the world's consumption in 2008 will reach 375,000 metric ton, or 2.9% increase from 2007's consumption of 364,000 metric ton. On February 2008, CRU estimated that the tin metal production in 2008 will reach 361,000 metric ton, or 3.9% increase from 2007 of 347,000 metric ton. Thus, it is estimated that there will be supply deficit of 14,300 metric ton in 2008.

The company believes that the tin mining industry is still promising. The company believes that the current condition -- whereby the law is being enforced -- as a process towards a better tin mining industry climate. The company expects that the Government will continuously and consistently implement such enforcement from time to time, so that utilization of national tin resources will produce an optimum value addition to overall national economy, create a healthy and fair business climate, and nurture a competitive and responsible tin mining industry socially and environmentally.

The existence of local or small scale mining becomes a part of overall mining industry. Unorganized local mining, however, will become a future economic hindrance due to its adverse environmental impact. Thus the company takes the effort to accomodate such small scale mining through partnership, while keeping on implementing good mining practice, environmentally responsible practice as well as observing the highest standard of health and safety. The Company believe that support from all stakeholders to establish such efforts is very important.

The transitional period basically will provide a profitable opportunities to all parties by keeping the national tin's industry competitiveness in the global market. By engaging the co-operation of all parties, the company believes that the tin industry will still be prospective. The role of Indonesia in global tin market is very important especially during the transition period, which is also being supported by the increase world's demand of tin metal. In the mean time, the company has been and will be continuously implementing order and legal enforcement to mining activities conducted within the company's mining rights areas in improving the security of its mining areas by establishing extensive security posts. In addition, the company continues to invest in exploration activities to discover new resources, to improve efficiency, to develop high-value-added products, and to diversify into non-tin businesses within the company's competence in order to maintain its longterm business sustainability.

For further information, please contact :
Abrun Abubakar, Corporate Secretary
or
Rosmainita Sari, Investor Relation
Tel. : +62 21 344 4011 /
+62 21 344 4001
Fax. : +62 21 344 4012
E-mail : InvestorRelation@pttimah.co.id
Website : www.timah.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 -ANTARANEWS

Korean service provider PIVOTEC 1st Asian implementer of GIPS

San Francisco, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire) - PIVOTEC selects GIPS VoiceEngine(TM) Multimedia with LSVX for its web based real-time video application, Mi-Meeting ROMARO


Global IP Solutions (GIPS) the leading provider of high-quality IP multimedia processing solutions, announced today that PIVOTEC, a major Korean ICT service provider, has become the first implementer of Global IP Solutions (GIPS) VoiceEngine Multimedia in Asia.

GIPS licensed VoiceEngine(TM) Multimedia enhanced with GIPS LSVX codec, which is being deployed in PIVOTEC's web-based real-time video application -- Mi-Meeting ROMARO, targeting the on-line education solution market.

"We had been using H.264 before trialing GIPS VoiceEngine Multimedia with its LSVX codec. The enhanced voice and video quality, under packet loss conditions, that GIPS delivered to Mi-Meeting ROMARO was a compelling improvement," said Doug Ahn, Senior Vice President of PIVOTEC.

"Our clients have come to expect superior performance from PIVOTEC's web conferencing solution. We are confident that by implementing GIPS best-in-class technologies we are providing them with the very best user experience available today."

PIVOTEC's key customers include major telcos and large enterprises that typically take the solution and provide services to third parties. For PIVOTEC and its customers, quality is the driving force behind their success.

"Application developers and service providers such as PIVOTEC need to guarantee that their multimedia offerings are meeting clients' expectations," said Steve Rust, Global IP Solutions vice president, Business Development.

"GIPS VoiceEngine Multimedia provides PIVOTEC with a complete solution that will keep pace with the ever-demanding and increasing requirements of the market as video users are increasingly requiring better speed, visual quality, reliability and consistency while providing more efficient CPU usage. GIPS meets these demanding market requirements as it's specifically designed for IP networks."

GIPS VoiceEngine Multimedia is a high-quality media processing framework specifically designed for IP networks and provides superior robustness against packet loss and the better visual quality mandated for real-time IP communications. With the additions of GIPS LSVX video codec, RAM and CPU usage is shown to be less intensive when compared against popular standard video codec implementations.

About PIVOTEC Technologies

Since its establishment in 1986, PIVOTEC has been a leading IT solution company in Korea that implements optimized IT infrastructure based on customer's needs through its excellent human resources and expertise on behalf of its customers. PIVOTEC has successfully put in place the IT business for major companies on the basis of twenty-year accumulated technology and know-how in the planning and construction of networks, the operation and integration of systems/networks, the development and maintenance of solutions and in system outsourcing areas.

More information at: http://www.pivotec.co.kr .

About Global IP Solutions

Global IP Solutions (GIPS) provides best-in-class voice and video in end-to-end IP communications with robustness against packet loss for service providers, enterprises, applications developers, network equipment, gateway and chip manufacturers. GIPS' customer list includes Nortel, Oracle, Samsung, WebEx, Yahoo!, AOL, EarthLink and other key players in the IP multimedia market. GIPS is a member of the Intel(R) PCA Developer Network, Motorola Design Alliance, Symbian Platinum Partner Program and Texas Instruments' third party developer network. GIPS is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Stockholm, Boston and Hong Kong. More information at http://www.gipscorp.com .

Contacts: Alex Tsang Global IP Solutions
Tel: +852-3180-2255 Email: alex.tsang@gipscorp.com
Glenn Howes / Karrie Lee Techworks Asia Ltd Tel: +852-2525 8977 / +852-2525-8038 Email: glenn@techworksasia.com /karrie@techworksasia.com
SOURCE: Global IP Solutions

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Digi launches secure Wi-Fi to cellular access point

Minnetonka, Minnesota, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Digi International (Nasdaq: DGII) today introduced the Digi Wi-Point 3G, a PC card based 3G cellular router with integrated Wi-Fi access point.


It acts as a cellular-to-Wi-Fi hotspot and provides secure, high-speed Internet access to remote workgroups and devices. It works with more cellular PC data cards than any other cellular router, enabling Internet connectivity virtually anywhere a cellular signal is available.

SpaceDev, a developer of space technology systems, products and services, uses the Digi Wi-Point 3G to allow its engineers to send data back to company headquarters from remote rocket testing sites.

Jon Martin, director of IT for SpaceDev comments: "We test rockets at least two miles from civilization, so we usually have no wired connectivity. The Digi Wi-Point 3G allowed us to set up an on an 'on the fly' hotspot so our engineers could send data back to headquarters. It was simply plug-and-play, and we were up and going in 30 seconds. We tried both Sprint and Verizon cards and found that both worked instantly."

The Digi Wi-Point 3G supports more than 40 cellular PC data cards around the world, including PCMCIA and PCI Express cards (with appropriate adapter).

It is a three-in-one router with integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi access point, 10/100 Ethernet and global cellular network access via virtually any carrier supplied PC data card. It is small and easy to deploy, and enables drop-in networking to devices that are hard to reach or do not have convenient access to wired connections.

"The Digi Wi-Point 3G allows remote sites and devices to wirelessly connect to the Internet or securely integrate into a corporate network - even if that remote device happens to be driving down the highway," said Larry Kraft, senior vice president of global sales and marketing, Digi International. "It is ideal for applications such as temporary networks, remote Wi-Fi hotspots, mobile/transportation deployments, disaster recovery, security and more."

The Digi Wi-Point 3G features enterprise class security, including IPsec VPN, WPA2 encryption and a full featured firewall. It also includes GPS support (with qualified PC cards), failover to dial-up modem and auto-detection of the cellular data card for seamless field upgradeability.

The Digi Wi-Point 3G is available now for USD485 MSRP. For more information, please visit http://www.digi.com/products cellulargateways/ . For more information about Drop-in Networking, please visit http://www.digi.com/products wirelessdropinnetworking/ .

About Digi International

Digi International, the leader in device networking for business, develops reliable products and technologies to connect and securely manage local or remote electronic devices over the network or via the web. Digi offers the highest levels of performance, flexibility and quality, and markets its products through a global network of distributors and resellers, systems integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

For more information, visit Digi's Web site at http://www.digi.com , or call +852-2833-1008.

All brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Press Contacts: Hokie Chan Channel Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific
Tel: +852-2235-2206 Email: hokiec@digi.com
SOURCE Digi International Inc.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Ansaldo STS expands into South Africa, Botswana

Brisbane - Medianet International-AsiaNet - The Board of Directors of Ansaldo STS (Signalling & Transportation Systems), a leader in the design, manufacture, installation, testing and commissioning of signalling, communications, automation and control equipment and systems for the railway and mass transit industries, has announced a major expansion into southern Africa.

The newly-established Ansaldo STS Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd and South African joint venture company Ansaldo STSInfraDEV South Africa (Pty) Ltd will enhance the global company's ability to deliver consistent value for money signalling and transportation solutions for the significant and growing railway, signalling and mass transit markets of southern Africa.

Managing Director of Ansaldo STS - Asia Pacific Region Lyle Jackson said the increasing number of project opportunities in the region had necessitated the establishment of the local companies.

"Ansaldo STS has been working with Botswana Railways (BR) to develop and commission a "safe working system" that minimises delays and reduces safety risks along its 886km rail line since August 2005.

"We have trained local engineers to operate and maintain the system and are in final negotiations with BR for an eight year maintenance agreement," Mr Jackson said.

"The establishment of local companies in Botswana and South Africa will ensure that we can respond fully to the increasing number of countries in this region that are seeking to improve the operating efficiencies and safety of their transport infrastructure.

"We have received strong interest from several rail organisations regarding the possible extension of the "safe working system", into neighbouring countries."

Commenting on the similarities between the Australian and Southern African freight markets, Mr Jackson said that Ansaldo STS Australia had extensive experience in delivering safe and reliable railway solutions to the heavy haul industry, particularly in the resources sector of coal and iron ore.

"Ansaldo STSInfraDEV South Africa (Pty) Ltd will be able to draw from this expertise and experience to assist South Africa's Transnet Freight Rail as it moves to address similar challenges across its 21,000km rail network," Mr Jackson said.

"We will also be seeking to support South Africas passenger service MetroRail with ongoing works and maintenance."

Ansaldo STS Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ansaldo STS Australia and is based in Gaborone, Botswana.

The principal office of joint venture company Ansaldo STS InfraDEV South Africa (Pty) Ltd is in Johannesburg.

ENDS: CONTACT:
Anne Richardson
+61-400-018-358
SOURCE: Ansaldo STS

V Australia Airlines media conference

Brisbane - Medianet International-AsiaNet/ -

WHAT:
Americans and Aussies in LA are all welcome at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday 31 March, 2008 to witness history in the making with an announcement from Virgin Blue and V Australia Management.

WHO:
Please join with:
MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY, MARY PETERS (VIA SATELLITE) SIR RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF VIRGIN GROUP BRETT GODFREY, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, VIRGIN BLUE GROUP
And members of the V Australia Management team

WHEN:
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008 at 10:30 AM (LA time)

WHERE:
LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TOM BRADLEY INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL (INSIDE OF TERMINAL TICKET LOBBY) UPPER/DEPARTURES LEVEL LOS ANGELES, CA

For further information:
Heather Jeffery General Manager, Public Affairs Virgin Blue Group of Airlines +61 412 922 122
Heather.jeffery@virginblue.com.au
Amanda Bolger Manager, Public & Media Relations Virgin Blue Group of Airlines +61 402 137 071
amanda.bolger@virginblue.com.au

SOURCE: Virgin Australia Airlines

Business in Asia Today - March 31, 2008 Business in Asia Today - March 31, 2008

POSCO E&C SIGNS US$112 MLN VIETNAMESE TERMINAL DEAL
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - POSCO Engineering & Construction Co., a construction unit of South Korea's leading steelmaker POSCO Co. (KSE:005490), said today it had clinched a US$112 million preliminary deal to build an international container terminal in southern Vietnam.
The container terminal, expected to process 1.15 million 20-foot containers a year, will be built in Vung Tau, 125 kilometers south of Ho Chi Minh City, POSCO E&C said in a statement.
The formal contract is scheduled to be signed in April, with the South Korean builder slated to break ground for the terminal in May with the aim of completing it by 2011, POSCO E&C said.

INDONESIAN CEMENT PRODUCER SEMEN PADANG TO BUILD NEW PLANT
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Cement maker PT Semen Padang in West Sumatra has said it plans to build a new factory with a capacity of 2.5 million tons a year with an investment of Rp3.3 trillion (US$366 million).
The new production unit will increase the annual production capacity of the company from 5.8 million tons at present to Rp8.3 million tons, when it is completed in 2011.
Last year, the subsidiary of state-owned PT Semen Gresik produced 5.4 million tons of cement from its four existing units.

PAN AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES STARTS GOLD OUTPUT IN LAOS
Melbourne (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Junior miner Pan Australian Resources Ltd (ASX:PNA) has started first production at its $US241 million ($A263.19 million) Phu Kham copper-gold project in Laos, ahead of schedule.
The initial phase is expected to produce about 52,000 tonnes of copper, 47,000 ounces of gold and 400,000 ounces of silver in concentrate each year.
First production was expected originally in mid-2008. Pan Australian is looking to increase the project's annual output through a $US40 million ($A43.68 million) expansion by the end of 2009.

VIETNAM, LAOS SIGN HYDROPOWER CONTRACT
Vientiane, Laos (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Lao counterpart, Bousone Buphavanh, witnessed the signing of a contract to develop the Sekaman hydropower project in Vientiane on March 30.
Work on the US$441 million project, to build two hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 322MW on the Sekaman River, is scheduled to commence in 2008 and to be completed in 2013.
On the same day, the Vietnam-Laos Electricity Joint Stock Company received a licence from the Lao government to implement a US$7.5 million project to build a hotel and high-grade offices for lease in Vientiane. The project will start next month and is expected to finish in July 2009.

INDONESIAN STEELMAKER SET TO LAUNCH IPO
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Privatization of the state-owned steel maker PT Krakatau Steel (KS) scheduled later this year will be through initial public offering (IPO) rather than strategic sales, an official said.
Sales of 30% worth around Rp1 trillion (US$111 million) of the country's largest steel maker were originally scheduled for last year, but poor financial performance in 2006 resulted in the postponement of the plan.
The State Minister for State Enterprises, Sofyan Djalil, however, said that implementation of the IPO plan would depend on market conditions.

VIETNAM TO BUILD NEW STEEL ROLLING PLANT
Dak Nong, Vietnam (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Central Highlands' Dak Nong province on March 28 gave the nod to a steel rolling plant building project, which is expected to be the largest of its kind in the area.
The plant, estimated to cost more than 1.63 trillion VND (over $US1 billion), will be capable of producing 13,000 tonnes per year.
The steel plant, expected to break ground in August, will be built in two years.

UPGRADE OF NEW CALEDONIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO COST $US120 MLN
Noumea (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - New Caledonia's government and French authorities have laid the foundation stone to renovate and upgrade New Caledonia's Nouma-La Tontouta international airport for about $US120 million.
Oceania Flash reports that works are expected to last 36 months and to be completed during the first quarter of 2011 at a cost of USD$120 million.
The upgrade project effectively doubles the surface of the current airport terminal from 11,000 to 22,000 square metres. New Caledonia's Chamber of Commerce (CCI), which is to manage the airport, secured a subsidy from the French Government of US$18 million.

SINGAPORE'S CATTIGARA TO BUILD RESORT IN VIETNAM
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Cattigara One Limited of Singapore has received an investment licence to build the Bai Chuoi-Lang Co resort in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
Cattigara One Limited will invest US$102 million in building a luxury resort on an area of 100 ha. The project will be carried out in two phases, with the first phase carrying investment capital of $50 million and completion scheduled for around 30 months.
The second phase will be conducted in three years with investment of US$52 million.

MALAYSIAN BANK BUYS STAKE IN VIETNAM SECURITIES FIRM
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Malaysia's RHB Investment Bank, the investment arm of the RHB Banking Group, has reached an agreement for a 49 per cent stake in the Vietnam Securities Corporation (VSEC) for about 13.3 million ringgit (US$4.15 million).
In an announcement on March 29, the bank said that the move marked RHB Banking Group's entry into Vietnam, Asia's second fastest-growing economy after China.
The bank further said that partnership was timely as Vietnam entered a new phase of development, characterised by the liberalisation of its markets and the opening up of its economy to foreign trade and investments.

VIRGIN BLUE GROUP LAUNCHES TRANSPACIFIC AIRLINE
Sydney (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Virgin Blue Group (ASX:VBA) has launched a premium, three-class international airline, V Australia, which will start flying a daily direct route between Sydney and Los Angeles before the end of 2008.
"The trans-Pacific route is in dire need of competition and a good shake-up and that's a challenge we are always keen to take on," Virgin Blue founder Sir Richard Branson said in Sydney today.
"The launch of V Australia means the Virgin Group for the first time will offer a global network of airlines that allows travellers to fly worldwide on Virgin airlines that all share the same vision and commitment to safety, service, fun and flair."
The launch of V Australia will be the first time there has been a second Australian airline competing on the trans-Pacific route.

Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 31, 2008
published by Asia Pulse

COPYRIGHT © 2008

Imagine Software wins another award, exhibits at GAIM Asia

Imagine Software wins another award for Derivatives.Com and exhibits At GAIM Asia


Hong Kong (BUSINESS WIRE) - Imagine Software, a leading provider of on-demand trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions, is exhibiting its integrated, real-time portfolio and risk management system, the ASP-based Derivatives.com system, at the GAIM Asia trade show at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong, March 31 to April 1.

This month the company added to its collection of industry awards in 2007 from Risk Magazine, Asia Risk, Buy-Side Technology, and Alpha Magazine with its first award in 2008, "Best Risk Management Supplier," from The Hedge Fund Journal.
Publisher Rod Sparks presented the award at a black-tie dinner earlier this month held at the London Natural History Museum.

"Imagine Software won this award because of its focus on its core areas of expertise, and its longevity in this market," said Rod Sparks. "Part of its appeal to our readers has been its versatility, its ability to cover a wide range of asset classes, and the fact that it has been able to deliver that level of sophisticated technology onto a desktop. But on top of that, it succeeds on the strength of its emphasis on real-time deliverables. This stems from a recognition that many hedge funds are having to make split-second decisions about their portfolios, and need to see their critical data in a highly customised interface. This is not easy to do, but Imagine seems to achieve it, and to do it in a manner that is cost-effective."

Yvonne Dahl, Director of ASP Sales & Marketing for Imagine, commented on the award and GAIM Asia. "We're honored for the recognition by The Hedge Fund Journal, and we're very excited at the opportunity to provide live, hands-on demonstrations of why we won the award to attendees of this year's GAIM Asia event. Our CEO, Dr. Lance Smith will be present to help explain the finer points of Imagine's real-time benefits and functionality."About Imagine Software Imagine Software is a leading provider of on-demand investment management solutions for the global financial industry. Its flagship product, the Imagine Trading System, is a real-time, cross-asset trading, portfolio, and risk management solution available as an enterprise application and an on-demand platform at Derivatives.com.

Developed for alternative investment companies of all sizes, Derivatives.com combines proven enterprise functionality with an on-demand platform that maintains comprehensive market data and automates key business processing services.

Imagine Software serves thousands of users worldwide, ranging from major brokerage firms and banking institutions to hedge funds employing all major asset classes across any trading strategy. Imagine Software is one hundred percent owned by its four managing directors.

For more information, visit www.derivatives.com or call 212-317-7600.

Media:Intermarket Communications Jed Hamilton, 212-754-5479 or Nicole Robbat, 212-754-5468

PMA Aircraft parts market grows in Asia-Pacific region

Growing need to reduce aircraft operating costs drives growth of Asia Pacific PMA parts market


Singapore - While the growth of air travel in the Asia Pacific is encouraging airlines to expand their fleet, constant hikes in jet fuel prices are adversely impacting their operating costs.

Usage of parts manufacturer approval (PMA) parts in North America and Europe proved a significant amount of costs savings and this trend is accelerating the penetration of PMA parts in the region.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.aerospaceanddefense.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of Asia Pacific PMA Parts Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $0.95 billion in 2007 and estimates this to reach $1.60 billion in 2013.

"Although the penetration of PMA parts is still low when compared to other regions such as North America and Europe, rising aircraft operating costs are expected to ignite the penetration of PMA parts in the Asia Pacific region," notes Frost & Sullivan Consulting Analyst Syahril Shariff.

"Part of the reason why many airliners do not accept PMA parts is that they do not understand how these are developed and how Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations are ensuring their reliability and safety."

Due to the high cost of engine parts, material represents at least 60 per cent of the maintenance and overhaul costs.

As a result, many airlines are looking to make massive savings through the extensive use of PMA parts for their replacement instead of sourcing them to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Moreover, PMA parts used in certain circumstances are found to be better than OEM parts, as normally PMA manufacturers use the latest technology to manufacture PMA parts, though not all manufacturers can produce the same quality.

However, customers in Asia Pacific are not as receptive to PMA parts as their North American and European counterparts.
The reason for this is the general perception that PMA parts are insufficiently regulated and can compromise the performance and safety.

"Airlines and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies ? the main customers for PMA parts are still of the perception that PMA parts are not as good and trusted as OEM parts," says Shariff.

"Besides, regulatory policies and development cost have been the major obstacles for PMA parts adoption."

Given these challenges, PMA manufacturers will need to educate the region's aircraft operators about the proven reliability of PMA parts. They should also work directly with operators and maintain close cooperation with local aviation regulatory bodies.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the strategic analysis of Asia Pacific PMA parts market, then send an e-mail to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

Strategic Analysis of Asia Pacific PMA Parts Market, is part of theAerospace and DefenseGrowth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: Commercial Rotary MRO Market Assessment, which is due for publishing by December 2008.

All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Growth Partnership Services, Growth Consulting, and Career Best Practices empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates, and implements effective growth strategies.

Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses, and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents.

For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

Strategic Analysis of Asia Pacific PMA Parts Market P16F Frost & Sullivan Corporate Communications North America & EuropeSara Villarruel, 210-477-8448 fax: 210-348-1003 sara.villarruel@frost.com or Corporate Communications

Southeast Asia Donna Jeremiah, +603 6304 5832 fax: +603 6201 7402 djeremiah@frost.com or Corporate Communications

South Asia Ravinder Kaur, +91 44 42044760 fax: +91 44 24314264 ravinder.kaur@frost.com or Corporate Communications

Middle East Nimisha Iyer, +91 22 4001 3404 fax: +91 22 2832 4713 niyer@frost.com or Corporate Communications

Latin America Jose Maria Jantus, + 54-11-4777-9951 fax: + 54-11-4777-0071 jose.jantus@frost.com or Corporate Communications ChinaAmelia Wong, +86 21 5407 5783, ext. 8669 cell: +86 13621724823 amelia.wong@frost.com or Corporate Communications

Australia & New Zealand Sharmin Jassal, +61 2 8247 8900 fax: +61 2 9252 8066 sharmin.jassal@frost.com or Corporate Communications

Africa Patrick Cairns, +27 18 468 2315 patrick.cairns@frost.com http://www.frost.com

Instinet, Samsung to launch Korean securities crossing network

KoreaCross to provide institutional investors with an anonymous, neutral and zero-market impact platform for the pre-market trading of Korean equities


Hong Kong (BUSINESS WIRE) - Instinet, a global securities firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., and Samsung Securities Co., Ltd., Korea's leading investment bank, today announced the launch of KoreaCross, a neutral platform available to institutional investors for the anonymous, zero-market impact trading of Korean equities. KoreaCross, which is scheduled to go live on April 7, will be the Korean market's first securities crossing network.

"As an agency broker, Instinet has a long heritage of providing independent, anonymous matching platforms, including the launch of the world's first crossing network in 1986," said Joseph Marchal, head of Instinet Asia. "We are pleased to collaborate with an industry leader in Samsung as we extend this expertise into Korea and offer investors the market's first alternative trading venue."

"As the leading investment bank in Korea, Samsung Securities strives for excellence in all of the various products and services we provide to our clients. To this end, we are constantly looking for ways to expand our product set, and therefore it is our pleasure to collaborate with globally recognized securities firm Instinet on KoreaCross," said YK Joo, head of equity sales at Samsung Securities. "This is the first crossing platform of its kind in Korea, and will allow both Korean domestic and overseas institutional investors to execute block trades of Korean securities at VWAP with little to no market impact."

"For many large, block trades, the Korean market can be a difficult and expensive one in which to operate due to its relative lack of anonymity," added Christian Chan, head of Electronic Trading for Instinet Asia. "Given these market nuances and our success with JapanCrossing, both Korean and non-Korean institutional clients have expressed much interest in a joint Instinet-Samsung ?blackbox' platform of this nature for trading Korean equities."

KoreaCross is wholly-owned and operated by Instinet, with Samsung Securities acting as the local broker sponsor and providing clearing and settlement services, as well as domestic order flow.

KoreaCross will operate as a daily, "blackbox" pre-market VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) cross, matching buyers and sellers at 8:30 a.m. KST for that day's primary market VWAP. KoreaCross will allow for short sells, and the system will aggregate order flow to allow clients to more easily meet the Korean market's 100 million KRW (Korean Won) minimum order size requirement.

Clients can access KoreaCross through the Instinet Newport? EMS (Execution Management System), through one of several third-party trading systems or via direct FIX Protocol connection. Clients interested in obtaining more information should contact Instinet's KoreaCross sales group at 852-2585-0585.

"While still in their relative infancy, electronic and off-exchange trading technologies are rapidly taking hold across Asia," said Sang Lee, Managing Partner at Aite Group. "The introduction of a system like KoreaCross should help further this trend by allowing institutional investors to more effectively trade a market known for its high market impact."

KoreaCross will become Instinet's ninth ATS (Alternative Trading System) platform around the world. In addition to CBXSM in the United States and Chi-X in Europe and Canada, these include JapanCrossingSM, a three-times-daily, "blackbox" crossing network, and CBX Japan, a real-time matching platform, both of which are operated under the firm's Japanese PTS license. Launched in 2001, JapanCrossing has become Asia's largest source of off-exchange liquidity, with "hit" (orders with at least a partial fill) and "cross" (orders with a complete fill) ratios among the industry's highest and which sees more than 2.5 percent of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's daily turnover flow through it each day. 2.57 percent in Q4 2007, as measured by Instinet Japan Ltd.

About Instinet

Instinet is a global securities firm, providing the world's most sophisticated fund managers with the necessary trading tools, ATS platforms and global agency liquidity to achieve a high quality trade execution more than 40 countries. Acting solely as an agent for its customers, Instinet seeks to improve institutional investment performance and lower overall trading costs through its various front-end trading systems, securities crossing networks, smart-routing technology, algorithms, commission management programs and investment research products. Instinet, through its subsidiaries, operates a wide array of ATS platforms around the world, including CBXSM in the United States, JapanCrossingSM in Asia and Chi-X? in Europe, Canada and, soon, Australia. The firm, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., has offices in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, please visit www.instinet.com.

About Samsung Securities

Samsung Securities is a full-service investment bank with a focus on wealth management and investment banking. The firm is at the forefront of Korea's financial market by offering a full spectrum of services and products including brokerage; underwriting and advisory; merger and acquisition; sales of beneficiary certificates, mutual funds, and other investment products; issuances and sales of derivative products and sales of OTC derivatives products. Samsung Securities has an extensive business network, employing 2,595 professionals at 89 local branches and overseas offices in London, New York and Hong Kong, and a representative office in Shanghai. A vast infrastructure combined with high caliber human resources, the firm has a solid framework for the delivery of quality financial services geared toward the needs of individual and institutional clients.

?2008 Instinet, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. All rights reserved.
INSTINET is a registered trademark in the United States and in other countries throughout the world. Approved for distribution in the United States by Instinet, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC; approved for distribution in Europe by Instinet Europe Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the U.K. Financial Services Authority; approved for distribution in Japan by
Instinet Japan Limited, which is a Financial Instrument Dealer under the Financial Instrument and Exchange Law, registered with Kanto Local Financial Bureau (Registration No, 208) and is a member of Japan Securities Dealers Association(JSDA); approved for distribution in Hong Kong by Instinet Pacific Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission; and approved for distribution in Singapore by Instinet Singapore Services Pte Limited, which is regulated by the Monetary Authority Of Singapore.

Media:InstinetMark Dowd, 212-310-5331 Vice President, Corporate Communicationsmark.dowd@instinet.com or Samsung Securities Co., Ltd.Jinho Kim, 822-2020-8366 Vice President, Corporate Communications Dept.jinho76.kim@samsung.com

Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning IBF in Mumbai, India

Mumbai, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - The IBF will hold its landmark Supply Chain Forecasting & Planning Training & Forum: A Hands-On Workshop in Mumbai on 19 & 20 May 2008.


This 2-day workshop will teach key forecasting methods and processes that are vital to a firm's success. The Mumbai workshop is paired with a Supply Chain Forecasting Forum where attendees can share forecasting & planning knowledge with peers in an open atmosphere.

The need to raise customer service levels and minimize costs is ever-present today. This IBF event offers an understanding of forecasting and planning to help meet those goals. Attendees will be able to use these how-to lessons immediately upon returning to their office.
-- Analyzing/treating data
-- Designing a forecasting process
-- Measuring forecasting performance
-- Preparing forecasts using different models/techniques
-- Using forecasts to reduce inventory, avoid stock-outs, and increase profit margins
-- Improving forecasts with S&OP and CPFR
-- Presenting forecasts

As with all IBF forums, seasoned forecasting practitioners will lead discussions on topics like these and more. Eager to help attendees expand their business forecasting and planning skills, this year's forum leaders come from Hewlett-Packard, CEAT Ltd., Great Lakes Institute of Management, Infosys Technologies, and the IBF. This forum is an outlet for networking and gaining practical knowledge that can be put to use right away. This wealth of knowledge makes the conference a worthwhile investment. To get details and to register, visit www.ibf.org/0805indiapr.cfm

The workshop leader, Mark Lawless, has extensive experience in planning, forecasting, and financial management in a wide range of industries. He has published numerous articles in the IBF's Journal of Business Forecasting, has been an editorial advisor to the JBF, and has given a variety of lectures discussions (e.g., IBF's Executive Forum). He helped develop IBF's Certification Program and ran on-site training for Sanford Brands, America Online (AOL), Bombardier, Wyeth Healthcare Products, among others. His undergraduate degree is in Economics and his graduate degrees are in Economics, Finance, and Accounting.

The IBF is recognized worldwide as the premier provider of forecasting and planning education, training, and certification. This global organization's membership includes many of the world's largest and renowned companies; also, it is known for its flagship publication, the Journal of Business Forecasting (JBF). The IBF has helped organizations improve forecasting accuracy and overall performance for over 25 years.

For more information, visit www.ibf.org
Jonathan Tafarella
Marketing Coordinator
Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning
Tel 516.504.7576 x 105
Fax 516.498.2029
Email: jonathan.tafarella@ibf.org
Web: http://www.ibf.org

SOURCE: Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning
CONTACT: Jonathan Tafarella,
Marketing Coordinator of
the Institute of Business Forecasting & Planning,
+1-516-504-7576 x105,
Fax: +1-516-498-2029,
jonathan.tafarella@ibf.org
Web site: http://www.ibf.org
http://www.ibf.org/0805indiapr.cfm

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Oshkosh Corp opens Asia procurement office in China

Oshkosh Corporation expands global footprint with third office in China


Oshkosh, Wis. - Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of specialty vehicles and vehicle bodies, announced today that it had opened an Asia Procurement Center in Shanghai, China, as part of its global growth strategy.

The Oshkosh Corporation also has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, which illustrates the Company's strong outlook for continued strength in its expanding global business.

"Aggressive international growth leads our business strategy. Opening a procurement office in Shanghai allows us to support our global manufacturing efforts by leveraging a local supply of parts, which enhances our long term competitiveness and strengthens our leadership position in the markets we serve," said Robert Bohn, Oshkosh Corporation chairman and chief executive officer.

"Broadening our global footprint with local offices increases the scale of our operations, which is key to fueling our future growth."

Oshkosh Corporation employees and business partners gathered at the new Shanghai office for a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Company leaders spoke to guests about the company's plan for conducting and growing business in China, and stressed the importance of strengthening strategic partnerships with suppliers.

The new corporate office is located at 1601, Yongda International Building; 2277, Long Yang Road; Shanghai, PRC.

The company currently has manufacturing facilities in 11 countries and additional service operations in 16 countries.
Oshkosh Corporation's products and services are sold in more than 130 countries across the globe.

About Oshkosh Corporation

Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh, JLG, Pierce, McNeilus, Medtec, Jerr-Dan, BAI, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline, SMIT, Geesink, Norba, Kiggen, CON-E-CO, London and IMT.

The Oshkosh brands are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, log on to www.oshkoshcorporation.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the Company believes are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the Company's future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital spending and debt levels, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "expects," "intends," "estimates," "anticipates," or "believes" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These factors include the cyclical nature of the Company's access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during a recession, which the U.S. economy may be entering; risks related to reductions in government expenditures, the uncertainty of government contracts; and the Company's ability to turnaround its Geesink Norba Group business.

Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Oshkosh CorporationFinancial:Patrick DavidsonVice President, Investor Relations+1 920.966.5939 or Media:Ann StawskiVice President, Marketing Communications+1 920.966.5959

Friday, March 28, 2008

Growing need for secure travel documents creates demand for e-Pa

Singapore (BUSINESS WIRE) - The need for a reliable solution to counter fraud, illegal immigration, and cross-border terrorism has created a case for e-Passports in the Asia Pacific region. The United States' Visa Waiver Program that necessitates e-Passports for select ountries further enhances this demand.


New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.smartcards.frost.com), Strategic Assessment of Asia Pacific e-Passport Markets- e-Passport, a machine-readable travel document containing smart card technology, comes in the form of a standard passport with the integrated circuit (IC) chip embedded in it. This technology is more secure and sophisticated than conventional passports.

e-Passports, require global cooperation and standard setting. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has issued protocols in this regard and tried to ensure a public key infrastructure (PKI) that can be shared by various countries.

"The PKI is significant in ensuring that the electronic data in the e-Passport can be trusted," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Michelle Foong.

However, it will be many years before countries install readers that are interoperable at most borders and agree on the distribution of digital certificates issued by the various member countries.

The infrastructure needed to use e-Passport effectively to police borders involves manufacturing and binding of the books, issuance and personalization systems, software for enrolment, capturing, and digitizing data and border control systems such as autogate. Some major manufacturers of smart cards offer turnkey solutions for e-Passport systems.

As more countries move toward ICAO compliance, the use of smart cards in this application is only bound to grow. International mandates such as those by the United States and the European Union, which waive visas for travelers from specified countries that issue e-Passports, will also help increase the use of e-Passports.

Market participants will have to find a way to deal with the possible political concerns regarding the costs of migrating the current infrastructure ? especially the proportion borne by the traveler.

"In creating a secure document such as the e-Passport, it is not only the travel document itself that needs to be scrutinized, but rather, the entire system and processes at issuance, immigration points, and back-end systems need to be considered from a security and efficiency perspective," says Foong.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the strategic assessment of Asia Pacific e-passport markets, then send an e-mail to Sarah Lourdes, Corporate Communications, at sarah.lourdes@frost.com, your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

Strategic Assessment of Asia Pacific e-Passport Markets is part of the Smart Cards Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: World Smart Card Markets, World Smart Card IC Market, and World Contactless Smart Card Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost & Sullivan, the Global Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Growth Partnership Services, Growth Consulting and Career Best Practices empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

Strategic Assessment of Asia Pacific e-Passport Markets
P160
Frost &?SullivanCorporate Communications ? Southeast AsiaSarah Lourdes, +603 6204 5878 fax: +603 6201 7402 sarah.lourdes@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? North AmericaMireya Castilla, 210-247-3830 fax: 210.348.1003 mireya.castilla@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? EuropeJoanna Lewandowska, +48 22 390 41 46joanna.lewandowska@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? South AsiaCaroline Lewis, +91.22.4001 3438 fax: +91.22.2832 4713 caroline.lewis@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? Middle EastNimisha Iyer, +91 22 4001 3404 fax: +91 22 2832 4713 niyer@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? ChinaAmelia Wong, +86 21 5407 5783, ext. 8669 mobile: +86 13621724823 amelia.wong@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? AfricaPatrick Cairns, +27 18 468 2315 patrick.cairns@frost.com or
Corporate Communications ? Latin AmericaJos? Mar?a Jantus, +54-11-4777-9951 fax: +54-11-4777-0071 jose.jantus@frost.com
http://www.frost.com

Industries' demand for clean and stable process heat energy fuel

Industries' demand for clean and stable process heat energy fuels adoption of industrial boilers


Singapore (BUSINESS WIRE) - Commercial establishments and industries across verticals have been increasingly demanding captive power to improve their production process and expand their facilities. This demand for process heat and electricity could encourage industries to invest in industrial boilers instead of depending on utility grids, which could be unstable in some Southeast Asian countries.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.energy.frost.com), Southeast Asian Industrial Boilers Markets, finds that the market earned revenues of $252.2 million in 2006 and estimates this to reach $382.6 million in 2013.

Market growth in each country in Southeast Asia may vary depending on the country's industrial policy, existing tariff structure, maturity of technology, power availability, and fuel resources. However, the keen focus of industries such as food and beverages, manufacturing, plastics, rubber, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and petrochemicals on improving energy efficiency strategies has significantly benefited the industrial boilers market.

The market is highly competitive because of the presence of numerous multinational and local equipment suppliers. Most local manufacturers enjoy immense popularity, especially among the price-sensitive small- and medium-sized companies.

Although some local companies also import low-cost equipment from China, end users prefer companies with local manufacturingbases, since it eliminates red tape. The strong presence of local suppliers even curtails the expansion plans of multinationals, which are preferred only by companies with critical applications.

"Most local manufacturers partner with or license the technology of industrial boilers from well-known European and U.S.-based multinational equipment suppliers," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Suchitra Sriram.
"Market participants will also gain from strong support for cogeneration power plants and by selling the surplus power generated to the local utility grid at attractive prices."

Meanwhile, rising concerns about the environment have created a demand for environment-friendly power generation technologies in the industrial boiler market. This trend is expected to trigger wider adoption of diverse, clean fuels such as biomass and biogas.

The increasing prices of oil and gas are also causing a shift in focus from conventional fuels to greener ones. The abundance of biomass in agro-based countries such as the Philippines only enhances the demand for biomass boilers.

"Industries' move to retrofit coal and oil-fired boilers with biomass boilers and replace old packaged boilers with new ones have given a huge boost to the market," notes Sriram. "These changes are in line with the governments' visions of environmental awareness and promotion of green energy technology."

The governments' favorable import laws have also gone a long way in driving uptake of industrial boilers, despite the slowdown in industrial development in Southeast Asia. For instance, the import laws for industrial equipment in Malaysia are simple, and this facilitates the expansion of the market, while in Thailand, the import tariff on boilers and boiler parts is only 5.0 percent.

These laws also enable local manufacturers to import technologically advanced machinery from suppliers in Japan, Germany, and Belgium. They can also collaborate with multinational companies to gain technical expertise, thereby offer boilers with higher efficiencies and better output.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the Southeast Asian industrial boilers markets, then send an e-mail to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

Southeast Asian Industrial Boilers Markets is part of the Energy & Power Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: Malaysia industrial boilers market, Thailand industrial boilers market, and the Philippines industrial boilers market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

Interviews with the press are available.

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Southeast Asian Industrial Boilers Markets P0CC Frost & SullivanCorporate Communications ? North AmericaJohanna Haynes,
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Business in Asia Today - March 28, 2008

IDEMITSU, MITSUI CHEM, OTHERS PLAN VIETNAM PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX
TOKYO (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co. (TSE:5019) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TSE:4183) said Thursday they will construct a petrochemical complex in Vietnam with Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. and PetroVietnam.
The firms have agreed to set up a joint venture, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC, in June at a capitalization of US$200 million. The joint venture will build a refinery and a petrochemical plant at a total cost of US$5.8 billion. The complex is to begin operating in late 2013 with a daily refining capacity of 200,000 barrels.
It is expected to produce petroleum products, such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil, as well as polypropylene, paraxylene and other basic petrochemical materials. Output will be sold in Vietnam and neighboring countries.

INDIAN M&A VALUE NEARS US$6 BLN IN FIRST 2 MONTHS
NEW DELHI (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indian corporates have announced 92 merger and acquisition deals, valued at nearly US$6 billion, in the first two months of the new calender year, global consultancy firm Grant Thonrton has said.
Banking and financial services, and shipping and ports attracted the maximum deals during the period. Outbound deals have outnumbered domestic ones in terms of value breakup. Domestic deals accounted for US$2.7 billion, whereas outbound deals totalled US$2.8 billion.
Inbound deals were valued at US$0.45 billion, the report showed. The most significant M&A deal in the first two months of 2008 was HDFC Bank's (BSE:500180) acquisition of Centurion Bank of Punjab (BSE:532273) followed by a subsequent merger. The M&A scene recently received a major boost with Tata Motors (BSE:500570) acquisition of iconic brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for US$2.30 billion.

AUSTRALIA 3RD MOST COMPETITIVE BUSINESS ARENA INTERNATIONALLY: SURVEY
SYDNEY (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Australia has been ranked the fourth most competitive place to do business behind Mexico, Canada and the United States, in a new survey. Melbourne also triumphed over Sydney as the most competitive big city in Australia, according to the study carried out by professional services firm KPMG.
The KPMG Competitive Alternatives Survey compared business costs in 10 countries and 136 cities and showed Australia was one of the cheapest countries in the industrialised world to base a business.
However, only one per cent separated Australia from second place. KPMG chief executive Geoff Wilson said Australia was an excellent base for business given its distinct cost advantage. Australia ranked second for manufacturing costs, had the third most competitive transportation costs and the fourth cheapest labour costs of the countries surveyed.

INDONESIA KEEN TO PURCHASE THAI RICE, SAYS PM
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday said that Indonesia expressed a desire to buy Thai rice on an annual basis and that Thailand wanted to purchase liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Indonesia in reciprocation.
Initially, the Indonesian government expressed its intention to buy 100,000-300,000 tonnes of Thai rice each year and the Thai government wanted to purchase one million tonnes of LPG from Indonesia in return. Additionally, Jakarta was willing to support Thailand's plan to buy fertilizers, which are abundant in Indonesia.
Mr Yudhoyono said Thailand and Indonesia would discuss the bilateral cooperation at all levels and expand their cooperation in trade and investment, security, energy, and fishery affairs to increase trade value.

NESTLE OPENS ICE CREAM PLANT IN SOUTH CHINA
GUANGZHOU (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Nestle opened a new ice cream plant in south China on Wednesday, demonstrating its aim to further develop the Chinese market. The 22,000-sq-m factory, in Guangzhou will increase the food and drink giant's annual ice cream productivity to 64 million liters, three times the output from its old facilities.
The plant, involving 250 million yuan (US$35.6 million) in investment, will help Nestle to promote its high-end ice cream brand in south China and meet the growing demand for ice cream products, said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and CEO of the Nestle Group worldwide at the opening ceremony.
Nestle, the world's largest food company, has opened 20 factories in 17 regions across China since it entered the market two decades ago, employing more than 13,000 people.

HONG KONG LAUNCHES FREE WI-FI TO SHARPEN COMPETITIVE EDGE
HONG KONG (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday officially launched a Wi-Fi program to give free access to hotspots, which an official said would help sharpen the city's competitive edge.
The GovWiFi program now gives free access to wireless Internet at over 30 government buildings and will have put in place around 2,000 hotspots to cover about 350 locations by mid-2009, said Frederick Ma, secretary for commerce and economic development.
The program will cover libraries, government offices, job centers, public inquiry centers, sports, cultural and recreation centers, community centers and parks. Ma said the provision of public Wi-Fi services was booming, with over 1,000 hotspots installed in just the first two months of 2008.

JAPANESE TO SPEND US$6 BLN ON INDONESIAN OIL REFINERY, LNG PROJECTS
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Three Japanese investors have agreed to cooperate with Indonesia's PT Pertamina to invest US$6.5 billion on oil refinery and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Indonesia.
Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. will team up with Pertamina to modify the Cilacap oil refinery in Central Java at a cost of US$1.9 billion expanding its processing capacity from 348,000 to 410,000 barrels of crude per day. Pertamina will also, in cooperation with Itochu Corp. (TSE:8001), expand the daily processing capacity of its oil refinery in Balikpapan from to 280,000 barrels and that of the Balongan refinery in Indramayu to 250,000 barrels at a cost of around US$3.2 billion, a Pertamina official said.
Pertamina also plans to build an LNG plant in Senoro, Central Sulawesi at a cost of US$1.4 billion in cooperation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (TSE: 7011).

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS TARGETS US$70 BLN IN SALES
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930) plans to increase its annual sales to 70 trillion won (US$70.6 billion) this year, the company's vice chairman Yoon said Friday. For 2007, Samsung Electronics posted 7.42 trillion won in net profit on sales of 63.17 trillion won.
It was the first time that Samsung saw its yearly sales figure, excluding earnings in overseas units, exceed the 60-trillion-won mark.
Competition will become fiercer in the global electronics market, Yoon forecasted, saying structures of competition between businesses will become more complex and Japanese companies will try to regain market leadership.

CHINA CITIC BANK REPORTS 2007 NET PROFIT MORE THAN DOUBLED
BEIJING (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - China CITIC Bank (SEHK:0998, SSX:601998), the nation's seventh largest lender, said its net profit more than doubled last year, powered by a jump in interest and fee income.
Net profit rose to 8.29 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion) from 3.73 billion yuan last year, the bank said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Per-share earnings rose to 0.23 yuan from 0.12 yuan in 2006.
Operating revenue surged 56.1 per cent from a year earlier to 27.8 billion yuan in 2007, it said. Net interest income rose 58.9 per cent to 26.2 billion yuan last year on increasing outstanding loans. CITIC bank raised US$5.4 billion in April through simultaneous initial public offerings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

BANGLADESH'S GRAMEEN CYBERNET SIGNS BROADBAND DEAL WITH ERICSSON
DHAKA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Grameen CyberNet Limited has signed a deal with Ericsson to have technological facilities to provide advanced broadband services like games and video-on-demand to its customers.
The facility would be a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network based on Ericsson's GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) solution, said a press release Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will deliver central office optical equipment and devices for the home base on its EDA 1500 solution, plus infrastructure such as fiber systems and cables.

Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 28, 2008
published by Asia Pulse

COPYRIGHT © 2008

Corning holds grand opening ceremony for LCD glass plant in China

Beijing plant will supply panel makers on the China mainland


Corning, N.Y. (BUSINESS WIRE) - Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today hosted a grand opening ceremony for the company's new liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrate manufacturing facility in the People's Republic of China.

The plant, located in the Beijing Economic Technological Development Area, is the company's first TFT-LCD glass production facility on the China mainland. The opening continues Corning's trend of entering an LCD-producing region as local market demand expands. Corning currently has LCD glass facilities in the U.S., Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

"Today marks the latest chapter in Corning's history of investment in China, where our businesses have responded to the varied needs of the region's many high-technology industries," said Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer, Corning Incorporated. "This plant reflects our commitment to grow with our customers and to support one of China's most important industries."

John P. Bayne, president, Corning Display Technologies China, hosted the grand opening celebration, together with Weeks and James P. Clappin, president, Corning Display Technologies.

"As an industry leader in TFT-LCD glass and other advanced display products, Corning is committed to providing customers with reliable supply across our global network," said Bayne. "This facility demonstrates our commitment to China and the growing TFT industry. We have added and will continue to add many people to our organization, including highly skilled technicians and engineers, as we continue to ramp operations over the coming months."

Previously, Corning stated that it expects global demand for liquid crystal display glass to grow 25% to 30% in 2008, representing an increase of more than 450 million square feet of glass to about 2.2 billion square feet by year-end. While much of that growth is driven by the demand for LCD televisions, smaller applications like LCD monitors, notebooks, and portable devices are also strong factors in overall glass demand.

About Corning Incorporated

Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) is the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics. Drawing on more than 150 years of materials science and process engineering knowledge, Corning creates and makes keystone components that enable high-technology systems for consumer electronics, mobile emissions control, telecommunications and life sciences. Our products include glass substrates for LCD televisions, computer monitors and laptops; ceramic substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems; optical fiber, cable, hardware & equipment for telecommunications networks; optical biosensors for drug discovery; and other advanced optics and specialty glass solutions for a number of industries including semiconductor, aerospace, defense, astronomy and metrology.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a variety of business risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the possibility of changes in global economic and political conditions; currency fluctuations; product demand and industry capacity; competition; manufacturing efficiencies; cost reductions; availability of critical components and materials; new product commercialization; changes in the mix of sales between premium and non-premium products; new plant start-up costs; possible disruption in commercial activities due to terrorist activity, armed conflict, political instability or major health concerns; adequacy of insurance; equity company activities; acquisition and divestiture activities; the level of excess or obsolete inventory; the rate of technology change; the ability to enforce patents; product and components performance issues; stock price fluctuations; and adverse litigation or regulatory developments.

Additional risk factors are identified in Corning's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation to update them in light of new information or future events.

Corning
Media Relations:James E. Terry, 607-974-7343 terryje@corning.com or M. Elizabeth Dann, 607-974-4989 dannme@corning.com or Media Relations - China:Lydia Lu, 011-86-21-5467-4666 x1900 lulr@corning.com or Investor Relations:Kenneth C. Sofio, 607-974-7705 sofiokc@corning.com

Inclusion of Sterlite Industries in the S&P India 10 index

Mumbai, India (BUSINESS WIRE) - Sterlite Industries (India) Limited ("Sterlite") (NYSE:SLT) is pleased to announce that it has been included in the recently launched S&P India 10 Index (the "S&P India 10"). The S&P India 10 is designed to provide investors with tradable exposure to the Indian equity market as well as serve as a basis upon which to create investment products.

Sterlite is the only company from the Materials sector in the S&P India 10.

The S&P India 10 comprises ten of the largest and most liquid Indian companies which trade on developed market exchanges namely the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, included companies must already be a constituent of the S&P/IFCI India Index, with a float-adjusted market capitalization above US$?500?million and six-month average daily trading value above US$?1?million.

About Sterlite Industries

Sterlite Industries is India's largest non-ferrous metals and mining company with interests and operations in aluminum, copper and zinc and lead. It is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources plc, a London-based diversified FTSE 100 metals and mining group. Sterlite Industries' main operating subsidiaries are Hindustan Zinc Limited for its zinc and lead operations; Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Limited for its copper operations in Australia; and Bharat Aluminum Company Limited for its aluminum operations. The company operates its own copper operations in India. The company recently entered the commercial energy generation business and is in the process of setting up a 2,400MW independent power plant through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sterlite Energy Limited. In 2007, it generated revenues of $5.9 billion and net income of $1.1 billion. Sterlite Industries is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in India and the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. For more information,
please visit www.sterlite-industries.com.

Sterlite Industries (India) Limited
Sumanth Cidambi, +91 22 6646 1531 Associate Director - Investor Relations sumanth.cidambi@vedanta.co.in
Sheetal Khanduja, +91 22 6646 1427 Manager - Investor Relations Sheetal.khanduja@vedanta.co.in

Sustainability Software Provider ESS opens Beijing Office

Enterprise Sustainability Software Provider ESS opens Beijing Office
Industry leader expands marketing and support of HSE/Crisis solutions in Greater China

Tempe, Arizona (BUSINESS WIRE) - ESS, the leading provider of enterprise sustainability solutions for Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) and Crisis Management, today announced that it has opened ESS China, its Beijing-based office that will offer the industry-leading software platform to organizations in Greater China and throughout the Asia Pacific region.

To celebrate its new office, ESS will host a grand opening event, featuring local executives and civic leaders, Wednesday, March 26 at the Beijing American Club.

ESS has established its first office in Asia in order to grow its marketing and support operations in a region where it already has a strong client base, including global energy giants PetroChina and China National Petroleum Company (CNPC).

"Businesses throughout Asia and, in particular, Greater China, are positioning themselves to increase their market share through expanded global operations," said Robert Johnson, ESS President and CEO.

"Those decision makers understand that their organizations must implement standards that are aligned with international protocols such as ISO 14000, Global Reporting Initiative, OHSAS 18000, REACH and others in order to compete in markets where HSE is recognized as an important benchmark for enterprise sustainability."

For nearly two decades, ESS has provided customer-focused solutions that reduce complexities, risks and costs that are associated with HSE management so organizations can reach their corporate governance goals for sustainability and operational excellence.

ESS China will continue that tradition by offering the company's integrated software platform, which enables organizations to efficiently address urgent business concerns such as greenhouse gas management, Corporate Social Responsibility reporting, worker health and safety, compliance reporting and emergency response.

"Organizations throughout China have experienced tremendous growth over the past 10 years, and now they are facing daunting environmental, health, safety and crisis management challenges," Johnson said. "ESS is uniquely positioned to help those organizations manage their HSE issues more effectively."

"ESS' integrated software platform enables users to efficiently collect and communicate critical HSE and Crisis data at all levels of an organization and across the enterprise. With technologies to support enterprise hierarchy and multilingual localization, ESS delivers enterprise solutions that help organizations leverage their HSE data to achieve a competitive advantage, and support Governance, Risk and Compliance."

PetroChina's HSE software platform implementation represented a major landmark as the first enterprise-wide compliance and risk management software deployment of its kind in China.

ESS' software platform enabled PetroChina, the world's largest company by market capitalization, to increase productivity by driving process improvements that generated time and cost savings while also improving management decision making. CNPC selected ESS based on the success of the PetroChina implementation.

About ESS

ESS is the leading provider of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) and Crisis Management sustainability software solutions that support Governance, Risk and Compliance and operational excellence. The company has provided global and local software for thousands of businesses, government agencies and other organizations worldwide. ESS is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona with U.S. offices in Denver, Houston and Washington, and international offices in Beijing, China and Calgary, Alberta.

ESS, TempeDawn Kehr, 480-346-5526
E-mail: ess-media@ess-home.com